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BREECH LOADING FIRE ARM.

No. 337,810. PatefitedMar. 16, 1886 M041 z a a H010 1i MG. 15 a 5 INVENTOR.

UNITED STATES PATE T nribngj ifii CHRISTOPHER GEORGE BONEHILL, OF BIRMINGHAM, COUNTY on 'w RwioK,

ENGLAND.

BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 337,810. dated March 16, 18 86 Application filed April 11, 1885. Serial No. 161,890. (No model.) Patented in England May 31, 1884, No. 8,471.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER GEORGE BONEHILL, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, England, gun-manufacturer, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Breech-Loading Small-Arms, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent in Great Britain, No. 8,471, dated May 31, 1884,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to breech-loading small-arms of the kind commonly called dropdown guns, or guns in which the breech ends of the barrels turn upon a horizontal I joint on the fore part of the body, the said breech ends being held firmly against the face of the break-off during discharge, and raised from the said break-off for the ejection of the spent-cartridge case and for reloading.

My invention consists in the novel construction and combination of devices hereinafter described, and specifically set forth in the claim.

I will now proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the manner in which my invention is to be performed.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal Vertical section of a breech-loading small-arm constructed according to my invention, the gun being shown in its discharged position. Fig. 2 represents essentially the same sectional view as Fig. 1, with the barrels open and the hammers raised to their cocked positions, which are held by the sears. The closing of the barrels takes back the hammer-lifter by its forward end taking into the inclined recess on the under side of the front lump. This view also shows the hand-lever on the tang turned aside, and the grip-bolt which takes into the prolonged rib of the barrels withdrawn. Fig. 3 is a diagram of aportion ofthe gun mechanism, shown detached, so as to better exhibit some of the partssuch, for example, as the overhanging foot of the hammer and the hammer-lifter. Fig. 4. is an under side view of Fig. 1, with the under plates and parts of the gun removed. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of the tang of the gun, so as to exhibit the grip-bolt and the way in which it is withdrawn and pressed home into the prolonged rib by the hand-lever. Fig. 6 shows in plan how the lugs on the foot of the hammers overhang the hammer-lifter, and also the position the front lump takes on the front of the said lifter. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the barrels. Fig. 8 is a front and side elevation of one of the hammers, and Fig. 9 the same of the sears. Fig. 10 is an elevation and plan of the ha1nmer-lifter lever. Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the hand-lever. Fig. 12 is the grip-bolt. Fig. 13 a plan and side elevation of the fore-end fastener. Fig. 14 is a modification of Fig. 13, arranged in a box form. The fore-end in the latter is removed by a lever which presses back the cam. Fig. 15 is a transverse section of the barrels through the fore-end lump, to show the curved foot over which the beveled edge of the cam-like fastening snaps. In Fig. 16 the end of the spring is made to do the duty of the camfastener.

The same letters of reference indicate the' same parts in the several figures of the draw- 1ngs.

a a are the barrels, and b the body, of the gun.

a c are the hammers, and c a are the side hanging lugsthe means by which the said hammers are raised by the hammer-lifter lever d. The hammers and their lifter are jointed upon the same fulcrum. The back end, d of the hammer-lifter d takes into an inclined recess, a on the under side or foot of the front lump, a.

e is a flat spring carried by the lifter (2.8

The said spring abuts or takes its bearing upon the solid of the gun, for the purpose of keeping the lifter, to which it is attached, always in its proper position with respect to the foot of the lump (L -that is, it prevents ISO ing at its lower end an enlargement for operating the bolts. l.

k is the lever on the tang for withdrawing the bolts both from the prolonged rib and the under lumps.

k is the concentric boss of the lever, which takes into the solid of the body of the gun.

k is a slot or groove running down one side of the boss k, and within this slot a teat, Z, of the grip-bolt Z lies, so that by the turning aside of the lever the bolt Z is drawn from the prolonged rib a of the barrels, as best seen in Fig. 2.

r is the spring for bringing back the lever is.

The fore-end fastener consists of a cam-like fastening, n, situated on the under side of the strap m. The cam-like fastening 02 turns upon a pivot or center. The fastener is provided with a chamfered or inclined shoulder, a,- which snaps over the incline 0 of the fore-end lump or loop 0.

p is a fiat spring which acts upon the plain shoulder of the fastener, so that inpressing home the fore-end in connecting it to the arm the bevel n is presented to the under side of the lump, and by the said bevel the cam-like fastener n is rotated and snaps into the hole 0 in the lump 0, the spring keepingit in that position. On the removal of the fore-end it is only necessary to pry its end, when the incline on the fasteneracting on the inner under side of the lump causes the said fastener to rotate and automatically liberate the fore-end. When it is desirable to liberate the fore-end other than by prying it, I arrange the parts as represented in the modification, Fig. 14.

q is the jointed lever, turning outward upon the fulcrum Q The turned-up end or spike g takes into an opening, a, of the fastener n, so that for the removal of the foreend it is only necessary to turn outward the lever q, when the turned-up end g rotates the cam-like fastener or upon its pivot or center of, and so removing the end a from out of the hole 0 in the lump 0, thus effectually liberating the fore end.

4 To open the gun, it is only necessary to turn the hand-lever k aside, when the top and bottom bolts are withdrawn, and on the opening of the barrels the recess a of the lump a raises the end of the lifter d of the hammer-lifter d, which in its turnlifts the hammers by the side snugs, 0' and so cooks the arm, the hammers being retained by the noses of the scars f engaging with the respective bents of the said hammers, as represented in Fig. 2. v The sears and triggers are provided with the usual sear and trigger springs for keeping them in their proper relative positions.

Onclosing the barrels, the hammer-lifter leaves the hammers or tumblers and follows the motion of the foot of the front lump, and when the barrels are fully closed the end d of the lifter d lies within the recess a of the lump a The barrels being in this last-named position, (with the cartridges introduced into the chambers) the arm is ready to be discharged, the barrels being bolted down both top and bottom, by the return of the handlever and bolts carried by it to their normal positions, the return of the lever being effected by the spring 1* underneath the tang-strap of the arm.

\Vhile I have specifically described and have shown in the drawings a fore'arm fastener of peculiar construction, I do not wish to be understood as herein claiming anything pertaining to said fore-arm fastener, but reserve the right to make the same the subject of a separate application.

Having fully described my invention, wha

I desire to claim and secure by Letters Pat- 7 cut isp In a dropdown breech-loadingfire-arm, the combinat-ion,with the gun-barrel and thestock, of a hammer pivoted in said stock and provided with side snugs, c", a hammer-lifter, d, working upon the same pivot as the hammer and provided with a spring, 6, and forwardlyprojecting toe d engaging with a notch, a upon the lump a of the barrel, whereby when the barrel is tilted the arm will be cooked, substantially as described.

Signed this 25th day of March, 1885.

CHRISTOPHER GEORGE BONEHILL.

\Vitnesses:

HENRY SKERRETT,

MILEs E. HUGHES,

Both of Birmingham. 

